Tandoori Chicken Tikka Naan Sandwich

TASTY

I was walking away from the gym yesterday mid-day, feeling disheartened that the Potbelly line was eighty miles long, and concerned as to where from might my post-workout refuel meal come.

(Yay for awkward efforts to not end my sentence with a preposition, which isn't something you should end a sentence with!)

Then, there on the street, I bumped into Dawn and Wendy, two of my colleagues, and righteous Naan & Beyond FIENDS. So, I went for Indian.

Not being in the mood for something saucy, I opted for a double tandoori chicken tikka naan sandwich. GOOD CHOICE. I'd had the lamb equivalent months ago, and though I'd almost always consider lamb the tastier choice, this chicken was moist and succulent, well-marinated (definitely a classic Indian yogurt marinade) with just a touch of char from the tandoor. The sandwich included acceptable tomatoes, good coleslaw, and a little mayo. Despite my true love for tasty lamb, I do think I'll again opt for this sandwich over the ovine equivalent in the future.

Worth sharing. Stay tuned for tomorrow's episode of "Hungry Sam's Friday Food Digest!"

Moroccan Chicken Tagine...And Photo Problems

The only photo that came out was of the sliced olives.

So here's the deal -- last weekend, I made an EPIC Moroccan tagine-style stew ("style," because it was cooked in a dutch oven, not a tagine. It had chickpeas, a thick, tomato stew sauce, ripe green olives, plump raisins, and delectable, fall-off-the-bone chicken thighs. It stewed in fresh-ground coriander, cumin, cinnamon, and paprika, and the meat just exploded with those flavors. I ate it over a quinoa couscous which I made with chicken stock, cumin, parsley, and oregano. The dish was sweet, it was tangy, it was filling, it was satisfying -- and I don't have a damn picture to show for it. Not really, at least.

You see, I take my pictures with my real camera, not my camera phone. That camera is a four or five year-old Panasonic Lumix, a point-and-shoot, and it's taken some brilliant photos of breath-taking beauty. Glacier National Park, Israel, cherry blossoms -- this camera has done great.

Except my camera can't do low-light, and guess what? I cook at night.

The flash washes EVERYTHING out (and with food we want color and vibrancy!); without the flash, all photos are blurry. There are probably technical terms for all this, but I dunno.

Now, I know I could set up little soft, white light lamps and screens or something, but I live in a house with roommates and don't feel like constantly setting up and taking down stuff like that. Plus, I'm going on some big boy vacations this year (back home for Acadia National Park for sure; Mayan pyramids in the Yucatan for maybe) and want awesome, better-than-totally-amateur photos of these jaunts.

So, readers with answers: I'm going to invest in a new camera. I want it to be a high-end digital point and shoot, something that will take great pics, something worth learning the ins-and-outs of, but nothing SLR or huge/wicked expensive. Can someone point me in the right direction? I'll, you know, make you pickles or cookies or something.

Thanks in advance!

Friday Food News Digest!

(Replace the word "war" with "food")

 
Get it? IT'S A PUN.

Every now and again I read some food-oriented news item (beyond my foodie-ness I am also a news junkie) that makes me think, "Gee whiz, the wonderful readers of my blog deserve to know this awesome/hilarious/horrifying news!"

So, welcome, dear readers, to the first ever Hungry Sam Friday Food News Digest! I will be taking liberal creative license with headlines, so, you know, please don't sue me, or whatever.

The Only Context in Which a McDonald's-Only Diet Might Be Acceptable
Maybe. This dude is training for a marathon eating pretty-much ONLY food from the golden arches, which is kind of, you know, alarming. Folks, remember: it's not just calories that matter. I sincerely hope McDonald's is paying for some part of his regimen or inevitably necessary diabetes medicine.
Via the Chicago Sun-Times

TMRESTRICTEDCOPYWRITEWHATEVER

Didn't Anyone Wonder Why There Were So Many Adults Buying Ice Cream?
When engaging in criminal activity, Hungry Sam says "Always have a good front!" These guys were creative -- they were selling oxycodone out of an ice cream truck. I'm not sure I have a joke for this -- you know, other than the drug dealing out of an ice cream truck thing.
Via The Huffington Post

...sinister.

The 50 Most Important Inventions (And Discoveries) in Food and Drink
Ok, I could probably live without liquid nitrogen in my kitchen, but hey -- most of these are pretty good. Courtesy of a fantastic food blog, The Daily Meal, this article hits nearly everything I would have included in a list of 50 critical food inventions, and clearly, several I would not. Come on, though, where's the spatula? I REALLY love my spatulas. (RELATED: I almost bought a Darth Vader spatula not long ago.)
Via The Daily Meal

I love my spatulas.

Congressman Accepts Campaign Donations *cough* Bribes *cough* in Wine
I hope it doesn't shock anyone that members of Congress accept enormous campaign donations. I'm a little concerned that this essentially amounts to bribery, but hey -- everyone's doing it! Turns out, some dudes and gals here in D.C. are taking their "contributions" in the form of fine wines. ALSO: in other related Star Wars news, the linked article also notes that another member of congress accepts her "gifts" in the form of art -- which includes a replica lightsaber given by Star Wars creator George Lucas. It's good to be the king, no?
Via Roll Call

I want to read this.

That about wraps up this week's food news extravaganza. I like this, and intend to keep it coming -- and feel free to send me articles as you all see them!

Love,

Hungry Sam

There Are Omelets I Remember

I don't have any excuses for this.

Well, three of them, at least. Also, how the heck do you spell "omelet"/"omelette"/"omelete"??? I'm going with "omelet," since I'm an American, dammit.

I've already discussed my recent predilection for omelet breakfasts. It's mostly a protein thing (25+ grams before 9 AM!), and I make 'em healthy by using mostly egg whites, Canadian bacon (very lean breakfast meat), and using onions, peppers, garlic, and dill.

The other day, though, I changed my omeletting process a little to great reviews from my taste buds. I started mixing a little cottage cheese into the eggs before starting to cook, which has made the dish fluffier and lighter, and cooked everything in less time by swirling uncooked egg under the cooked edges more aggressively. Really, very fluffy, almost delicate omelets going on all up in this business.

So, just to leap back into the blogging swing, here are some photos of the best omelets I've ever made!

IT'S ALL YELLOW.

And -- the best one EVER (this morning):

"The peppers are INSIDE the omelet..."

Food Photo Round-Up

I'm starting to move to using a real camera (as opposed to the camera on my phone) for the blog -- hopefully you've noticed. Still, when I'm excited about something I'm eating in a given moment, I'll often snap a picture with my Droid.

The problem is, these photos tend to remain on my phone, since many don't warrant a whole blog post. But they still represent fascinating meals and delicious dishes, so here is the first semi-annual Hungry Sam Photo Round-Up!

1) Sample plate of mom's Christmas cookies!  

My favorites are the decorated cutouts and the lumpy chocolate ones (called Chinese new year cookies).

FESTIVE

 2) Homemade eggs benedict, grapefruit, and mango! 

My hollandaise was a little too lemony, but still pretty tasty.

POACHED

 3) My colleague Peggy's homemade whoopie pies!

REGIONAL

 4) Tandoori chicken from Naan and Beyond (D.C.)! 

Pretty good, and not at all dry, as tandoori chicken can sometimes be.

RED

 5) Butternut squash soup from Le Pain Quotidien (D.C.)!

SOUP?

 6) TONS of sushi at California Rollin' in Rochester, NY

The ones with sauce are BBT rolls -- regular tuna rolls, tempura fried, with Dinosaur BBQ sauce on top. AMAZING.

ETHNIC! AND ANTHONY!

I hope you enjoyed the photos! Next time, maybe some pictures of food from my trip to Savannah this coming weekend. I will leave you with the traditional blessing of my people: May you eat brunch.

DISCOVERY: Chipotle Breakfast!

'Borrowed' from the web.

I eat breakfast every morning. Every single morning. I don't think I've missed a single breakfast in three years, with the possible exception of a few weekend days -- on which I sub-in brunch.

I'm hardcore about breakfast because a) it's healthy and I keep myself full through most of the morning and b) I get to cook something every day before doing anything else. The key to making breakfast happen every day is habit, which means I tend to go on "kicks" -- long stretches in which I make variations on a particular breakfast recipe.

I've been on an eggs kick, adding onion, peppers, Canadian bacon, capers, and sun-dried tomatoes in some combination and often spicing with dried dill weed and garlic. I generally do an omelet, with the occasional scramble or frittata, and I frequently use one egg and two eggs-worth of store bought egg whites (fewer calories, more protein).

Well, last night I was watching a "Dexter" rerun, and among the fantastically sinister "getting-ready-for-the-day" opening credits scenes is one in which bright red hot sauce is violently splashed across an egg. Color me inspired.

This morning, I did the same thing with my morning omelet. I picked up a bottle of Chipotle Tabasco hot sauce (which I'd purchased without a clear sense of what I'd use it on) and drizzled my eggs with the sweet, smokey, burning flavor of chipotle peppers. Turns out, I'm hooked.

Simple onion, garlic, dill, and Parmesan omelet DRENCHED in chipotle hot sauce.

To make my morning omelet, you'll need (at a minimum):

• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. egg whites
• 3 T. diced onion (about 1/2 of a small one)
• 1 t. minced garlic
• 2 slices (or one serving) of Canadian-style bacon (the leanest of breakfast meats; unavailable in Canada) cut into cm squares
• 1/2 t. dried dill weed
• Little bit of butter, salt and pepper

TO make, smear a little butter (enough to coat) on the interior of a nonstick skillet. Set over medium/medium-low heat. Once hot, throw in onion and garlic and cook til fragrant, about 2 minutes. Beat the egg and egg whites together until slightly foamy; add dill and season with salt and pepper. Add meat to the pan (and any extras, such as sun-dried tomatoes, capers, other veggies) and cook until you're happy, then add egg mixture.

For an omelet, don't disturb the pan until the edges set -- then you can swirl the uncooked egg around onto the pan. For scrambled eggs, start scraping and pushing using a (non-metal!) spatula pretty much right away. For a frittata, cook in an oven-safe skillet over medium-low, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and don't disturb eggs until nearly fully set. Finish a frittata in the oven until it starts to brown nicely.

In all cases, add Parmesan cheese before eggs are done (or for a frittata before they go in the oven) but after they're mostly set to avoid a mess.

I think I'll be on a hot sauce kick for a while.

BREAKING NEWS: Google Goes Foodie!

I am in no way affiliated with Google. Tribute only. Their property. Please don't sue me.

Ok, so this quick-quick post is less about food and much more about an AMAZING development in the already pretty awesome world of Google: Google Recipe View.

I already use Google heavily to find new recipes. Often, I'll type the name of a dish and a few of the ingredients I happen to have into the search bar along with the word "recipe," and I'll find some amazing stuff. It often looks like "chicken salad recipe mango curry walnut" or "lentil stew recipe carrot harissa celery ginger."

Now, Google has made this process AWESOMER (I'm almost like a writer, so I almost get to make up words). Go ahead, visit Google and type in the name of some food that you might make, say, "muffin." over on the right hand side, along with "Images," "Videos," "News," etc, will be "Recipe."

When you click on "Recipe," up will come some new options -- and therein lies the awesomeness. Google gives you the chance to narrow results by including or excluding some oft-associated ingredients, cook time, and caloric level (I'm assuming when available). The beauty of this is twofold: a) Google "gets" what I and presumably many others do with their product, and is tailoring the product to fit; and b) this will encourage others to use the Internet for recipe gleaning. Based entirely on a number of conversations with friends and coworkers, I don't think enough people consider the web for what it is: a veritable TROVE of excellent recipes to be enjoyed and cooking experiences to be had.

And, in the kind-of-entertaining category, because Google does the "instant search" thingy now, as I type in new ingredients or words, the list in "ingredients" is updated live and immediately. Life is good.